Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross is an enemies-to-lovers fantasy romance.
 
The story is set in a world where there is a war. Iris is a writer and journalist, and she does everything to hold her family together. But that is rather tough with her brother fighting on the front lines and an alcoholic mother. To deal with all of this she starts writing letters to her brother, but they are magical and someone else actually receives them.
 
And that is no one else than Roman who works with Iris at the Gazette and they both compete for a promotion. I really liked this workplace rivalry and there is just so much more to their relationship. Their families have a distant connection and I loved how this was embedded into the story. Iris is a strong woman who goes her own way in a male dominated world and Roman also does his own thing regardless of the expectations his family has of him.
 
I really liked the concept of this book with letters of enchantment and a world rich with myths and history. The characters found love in the midst of all of this and that was just beautiful to follow.
 
Overall, Divine Rivals is such a unique fantasy with a rich world and loveable characters. I highly enjoyed it and can totally recommend it. 4 stars.
 
(ARC kindly provided in exchange for a review.)

When Iris sets her heart on winning a columnist position at the Oath Gazette, she hopes it will help take her mind off of her brother missing from the front lines in a war against two gods. She also helps it will take her mind off her competitor Roman Kitt, her handsome rival at the newspaper.

To distract herself, she writes letters to her brother and slips them underneath her bedroom wardrobe. To her surprise, one day Iris finds a letter addressed back to her. Who is writing her? Where has her brother gone? What is the magical connection that links Iris to the mysterious stranger who captures her heart in letters?

While I'm not a big fan of fantasy romance, I gradually found myself getting swept up in Iris and Roman's story. Even though I wished the fantasy elements were stronger and the world building more complex, the relationship between the two main protagonists was compelling and always drew me in.

My favorite sections were the letters between Iris and her stranger. They were absolutely gorgeous! They worked as a way to build up both the angst and tension in the plot and also the character growth.

There was defiantly some miscommunication that seemed unnecessary and brought the entire story down a star for me. But by the end of the novel, it didn't annoy me as much as it did in the middle.
The beginning and ending were the strongest for me. I didn't think I wanted to continue on in the series, but something happened right at the end that left me VERY curious about what happens next.

If you enjoy fantasy romance, I'd definitely suggest picking up Divine Rivals.

*Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/Wednesday Books for the digital arc. All opinions are my own.

Also just finished reading such an amazing ARC yesterday and I don't know what to do with my life now because I want the next book asap😩 I blame a friend of mine as I'd seen her post about Divine Rivals and I went to request it on Netgalley immediately after seeing that blurb - like hello, an enemies to lovers story with two rival journalists who end up writing letters to each other through magical means? I was like sign me up!!! And my god, the writing was so beautiful right along with the characters!

This was a mix of historical+fantasy with something like a world war setting but with gods and magic - quite unique. And Iris and Roman are two journalists working at the Oath Gazette while competing for the columnist position. Iris has a lot of things on her plate - with a mother who is addicted to alcohol and a brother who went off to war and might be missing. She pours out her frustrations and fears into a few letters to her brother and slips them beneath her wardrobe door, never expecting that Roman Kitt ends up receiving them and they strike up a correspondence - that ends up changing both of their lives!
I love books with epistolary elements in them and I could really feel the connection between Iris and Roman, on paper and when they interact irl too. More than that, I loved the fact that they tried to become the best version of themselves because of each other. I loved watching them gain courage and find strength in vulnerability! Also, the focus on grief and war, and how it changes lives irrevocably was very realistic, but not too heavy as it was balanced well with everything else.

I knew something was going to happen in the last few chapters just like the characters, I was waiting for the other shoe to drop but gods what a cliffhanger. I can kinda guess which direction book 2 would go in but I just want everything to be alright for these two quickly! Please gimme the next book!😩

P.S. Also would love to know more about the gods and what's up with Dacre and Enva - I feel like he must have more motivation for doing all this than just the snippets of the myths that we're getting(feels like a twisted/everything-went-wrong version of Hades-Persephone)

I'm still trying to recover from this book; it's such a phenomenal read. The writing in this book is simple, but it's also lush, beautiful, and immersive. As we experience the story through Iris's and Roman's perspectives, the author seems to focus on the more emotional aspects. The plot doesn't have as much action as I would have expected but I think this was such a good way to develop a greater understanding of the world, the war, and the characters themselves. Iris and Roman were perfect together and I loved the pace of the story. I don't want to say too much because I think this is a book that one should experience themselves, but this story is so beautifully written and it does a great job depicting the realities of heartbreak, grief, hope, and love.

I think I read this entire book without stopping. Rival reporters at the same newspaper, Iris and Roman are competing for a columnist job. The two are most certainly not friends but are both so lonely and desperate for companionship that I just wanted to hug them both and not let go. Iris has been writing letters to her brother who is off fighting the war but she puts them in her warddrobe because she doesn't know where to find her brother. Imagine her surprise when she gets a reply. She and the mystery writer strike up a friendship but when the unthinkable happens, Iris decides to become a front line reporter and go cover the war of the Gods.

I found the world building amazing and could almost picture the scenes unfolding on the page (I never see these things in my brain, it's just black). I loved Iris and Roman, the magic typewriters and all the supporting characters. This is such a stunning story of love, friendship, grief and belonging. I may not forgive the author for the cliffhanger but please know that whenever the sequel releases, I will be dropping EVERYTHING to read it because I need it like now.

Divine Rivals comes out April 4 and is available for preorder. Please do yourself a favor and grab this one. I already have my copy ordered and will be gushing over my love for it when I meet the author at Apollycon at the end of April.

Thank you so much to Wednesday Books for allowing me to read this advance copy. I didn't expect to love it as much as I did but I'm tearing up again just thinking about it. A truly outstanding read.

3.5 stars
I feel like I was misled by the description slightly. The description gave us the idea of a war of the gods with these poor star-crossed reporters trying to hold on to normal. True it does detail mostly Iris and her writing but the first line is about the gods.

Most of the book is from Iris's perspective. At a certain point though we are able to see a few chapters from Roman as well. This was a nice change. While Iris was dealing with a lot of pressure and trials she just wasn't a very likable character. Iris sees Kitt as a pompous rich boy who is only her enemy. While he does make snide comments in past references during the book he is never mean to her.

So the end of the book was just a setup for the second in the series. Otherwise, it could have ended before then when they were finally together. Sure the war would have still been going on around them but plenty of books do that. This book was only moderately about the war or the gods anyway, it was a background thing always being talked about. The character's interactions and growing feelings were the true focus of the book.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross is a rom-com in a fantasy setting. The story revolves around Iris, who is a columnist. One day, she starts writing letters to her brother, who went off to war, and slipping them under her wardrobe door. Unbeknownst to her, the letters end up going to Roman, her rival at the newspaper. They start writing letters back and forth with Iris unaware that Roman is who she writing to. Then, Iris decides to leave to become a war correspondent. Will the pair turn from rivals into lovers - even with the added distance?

Here is an atmospheric excerpt from the Prologue:

"Cold fog had settled over the depot like a burial shroud, and Iris Winnow thought the weather couldn’t have been better. She could hardly see the train through the gloam, but she could taste it in the evening air: metal and smoke and burning coal, all woven together with a trace of petrichor. The wooden platform was slick beneath her shoes, gleaming with rain puddles and piles of decaying leaves.
When Forest came to a stop at her side, she stopped as well, as if she were his mirror. The two of them were often mistaken for twins with their wide-set hazel eyes, wavy chestnut hair, and the freckles that spilled across their aquiline noses. But Forest was tall, Iris petite. He was five years her senior and for the first time in her life, Iris wished that she were older than him.
“I won’t be gone long,” he said. “Only a few months, I think.”"

Overall, Divine Rivals is an amazing YA fantasy novel that will appeal to fans of Fantastic Beasts and The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy. One highlight of this book is how it is a rom-com in a fantasy setting. I rarely see books like this where the romance is the focus and the fantasy setting is just in the background. Another highlight of this book is the actual love story, which is heartwarming and enjoyable to read. If you're intrigued by the excerpt above, or if you're a fan of fantasy books in general, I highly recommend that you check out this book when it comes out in April!

I loved everything about this book! The romance, the magical realism, the friendships and found family, are all just perfection. It's such a well-written story and I really enjoyed the witty banter between the two main characters. The audiobook is fantastic and I'm so glad that I had the opportunity to listen to it. I can't wait for the next book to find out what's really going on!!

Thank you NetGalley and Wednesday Books for an advanced e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest, spoiler-free review!

It’s the mark of a good book when it makes me set aside anything else I happen to be reading at the same time because I have to find out what happens or the characters are so compelling, etc.

Divine Souls did that for me. It is a story muddied by war but also bursting with hope. My heart was in my throat during fraught action scenes, and I was constantly rooting for Roman and Iris to interact, even in the book’s beginning chapters, where they are posed as rivals. (I’m also a sucker for epistolary elements in stories, and the letter-writing flair in Divine Souls deepened Roman and Iris’ characters and made a great structure for the story)

It’s not a straightforward romance - there are professional and familial conflicts that stand in the way, but the characters always respect each other and the trajectory of their relationship is believable and full of swoon-worthy pining. You just want them safe and able to be together! It does feel like there’s a bit of a “you should wait until marriage” message/trope, which I could explain away by saying it fits the notions of a certain time in history, but while this sometimes feels like historical fiction, it’s purely fantasy. It’s something I noticed but it doesn’t shift my rating away from 5 stars.

The epilogue hints at further exploration of the mythology in book 2, which is one of the only things that I wished this first book went into more detail. Can’t wait for the sequel - thanks so much for the advanced copy!

“I am so afraid. And yet how I long to be vulnerable and brave when it comes to my own heart.”

What to say about this book. It has been a long time since I had a book pull me in — a book that left me thinking about it throughout the day, had me up late into the night for another chapter that left my heart fluttering and one that made my heart ache in the most beautiful of ways. Rebecca Ross has this lyrical way of writing that sings directly into my heart. The worlds she weaves around you make you feel as if you are standing there with the characters, as if you could reach out and grab that warm cup of tea sitting on the desk.

Roman and Iris, how they both individually stole my heart and together tore it apart. Reading through their happiness, pain, sorrow and longing… it left me feeling a sense of understanding. Both of these characters experience things many of us have — the need to appease your family, feeling like you will never amount to what is expected of you, finding people who fit into your life as if they were family… I could go on.

This story was beautiful and tragic, it will make your heartache in the best of ways. Rebecca has quickly become an auto buy author for me and I can’t wait to see what she will create next. Magic typewriters, gods at war, flirty banter and a WWI-esque setting — this book will not disappoint. Perfect for those who love Historical Fiction, Found Family and Enemies to Lovers.

You know those books that keep you up way past your bedtime? Those books that are beautiful and funny and heartbreaking and stressful all at once? Divine Rivals by @beccajross is one of those books. I am obsessed, thoroughly and completely. Iris and Kitt will live rent-free in my head for a long, long time.

This was my first Rebecca Ross book, and seriously, I’ve been missing books like THIS?? What was I thinking not picking up her other books sooner? Her writing is gorgeous, her story intricately woven together, and the fantasy WWI setting? Amazing. I’ve seen a lot of hype about this book. It’s true, all of it. Read this is you like:

* YA/NA fantasy
* WWI setting with a touch of magic
* enemies-to-lovers/ workplace rivals
* Dual POV
* Found family
* Books that give you ALL the feels

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Letters of Enchantment!

Iris Winnow has always wanted to be a writer. When offered a trial job with the newspaper, the Oath Gazette, she seizes it. It turns out she’ll be in competition with an Ivy League type, handsome and rich, Roman Kitt. Iris does delightful things to annoy Roman, like moving his precisely arranged pencils.
Working from home on her Nan’s old type writer she puts a letter into the wardrobe. The next day she receives an answer. What!? Iris believes she’s writing to her brother. Her corespondent sets the record straight and tells Iris he’s not Forest. They continue to write sharing their deepest secrets and painful memories.
Forest is off fighting the war for the Skyward goddess Enva against a defeated god of the Underling, Dacre.
Later, after some life changing moments, Iris resigns and becomes a war correspondent with a rival newspaper, the Inkridden Tribune. Mostly she interviews wounded soldiers behind the lines but when the opportunity opens to go to the front, she does. It’s akin to World War I in the trenches, without planes rather flying creatures called eithrals who drop bombs and gas, and the Hounds, wolf like creatures who kill at the slightest movement after dark.
Felix, having spurned his family’s requirement to marry the daughter of a chemist professor Elinor Little. Roman joins her at the front. (I can’t help putting his ex-fiancé's father’s position as a research chemist with the the gas containers on the front. After all, Felix’s father and that of his fiancé support Dacre)
We are left with Felix badly injured, the Dacreans having advanced their lines and overrun the town the correspondents were billeted in, and Forest mysteriously saving Cordelia as the enemy advances. What has happened to Roman in that devastating flight from the enemy.
Highly descriptive, tense writing produces well crafted scenes that really came alive. I was in the trenches quaking and terrified, on the fields gasping for breath whilst fleeing poisonous gases. Enveloped in the arms of my found love. An enemies to lovers romance that sighs into being.
A magical take on a twisted Orpheus and Eurydice theme with Dacre angered about being deceived by Enva when she escapes to the Sky, then returns, plays her harp and leaves Dacre asleep for two hundred years. Dacre has awakened and wants revenge. The God’s twisted anger sends a shiver down my spine. Humans have been dragged into the war. Their suffering is just beginning I suspect.

A St. Martin’s Press ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.
(Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.)

I absolutely adored this book. Academic rivals to lovers is one of my favorite tropes and the epistolary nature of this romance was so sweet. I am so glad we got a bit of Roman’s POV because the pining was *chef’s kiss*. The fantasy elements play more of a background role, which I think is good to expect going in. This really feels historical romance/cosy fantasy adjacent with a WWI-esque setting. As always, Rebecca Ross’s writing is beautiful and this no exception. I didn’t know this was a duology going in, and I am already anticipating the next book!

Wow. What a fantastic read! Unique and intriguing with a fantastic cast of characters, a compelling plot, and an epic romance, Divine Rivals entranced me from start to finish. Ross is such a wonderful storyteller with the ability to make you feel all kinds of emotions. It’s heartwarming and heartbreaking, intense and dark and hopeful, and I loved every second of it.

Rival journalists at a newspaper and vying for the same job, Iris and Roman are both layered and compelling characters. Their backstories are different, but they are similar in many ways, especially in their passion for journalism and writing. With war brewing between the gods, men and women on each side are joining the fight, including Iris’s brother, there is a tense and foreboding tone throughout the story. Reports of missing soldiers have everyone concerned, and when Iris doesn’t hear from her brother, she joins the war effort as a front-line reporter in the hopes of finding out what happened to him.

I found myself easily immersed in this complex and layered world. It feels like the mid-twentieth century but with gods, monsters, and magic. It was so interesting, as was the mythology and history of the world. The story is cleverly constructed with a plot that slowly increases in intensity and pace as the story progresses. It all leads to a climactic ending that completely shocked me and might have made me cry a little.

Iris and Roman have a unique and complex relationship made even more interesting because they get to know each other as rivals and as pen pals. The pair exchanges letters, though Iris has no idea she’s writing to her rival. The letters are wonderful! In them, Iris and Roman are both vulnerable and exposed in ways they never are in their lives, and the letter writing gives them a safe place to express their deepest fears, worries, and more. They connect on such a deep and visceral level. After reading this book, I firmly believe I need a magical typewriter in my life, and I will be patiently waiting for that day to come.

To have a beautiful romance bloom in the midst of such violence and chaos and tragedy is a striking and powerful contrast. The backdrop of the story is bleak and dangerous, yet these wonderful relationships balance out the darker elements well. Oh my word, there are several scenes that had me absolutely swooning! Plus, it has one of my favorite tropes – the found family! I love this for Iris, who has lost most of her family. And Roman’s grandmother is fabulous too. She is wise and astute, and I’m hoping we’ll see more of her in future books.

This was a brilliant read and one I loved so much that I preordered a print copy even though I already have a digital one. I NEED to add this to my bookshelf of favorite reads! It’s intense, suspenseful, and so intriguing, and I adored Itis and Roman and their swoon-worthy love story. It’s the kind of story that makes you gasp out loud and shout at the book and laugh and cry and immediately look up the release date of the next book in the series even before finishing this one.

Did I purchase two other books by Rebecca Ross after reading this one? Yes, yes I did. I am determined now to read everything the author has ever written after loving this book so much.

I would definitely recommend checking out the content warnings before starting the story. It does not shy away from the harsh realities of war and economic insecurity and includes violence, death, loss, PTSD, addiction, and more. Special thanks to NetGalley, Wednesday Books, and Rebecca Ross for providing me with a copy of the book. All thoughts are my own.

Rebecca Ross never fails to disappoint! Her writing in itself has magical qualities that keep you transfixed and transported straight into the story.

I loved the slight feel of "You've Got Mail" mixed with fantasy in this book. It was a bit grittier, and a little more real life than the past series I read from her - but I liked that, it felt like it took inspiration from our own past with world wars.

The characters all had heart, it was easy to fall in love with them. The ending was very unexpected, and I'm on the edge of my seat with anticipation for the next book in this series.

I would highly recommend this book!

Short synopsis: Iris and Roman are both trying to get the columnist position at the newspaper. When the war stars and Iris’s brother joins, she writes letters to him but finds out quickly the letters being returned are not from her brother.

My thoughts: Wow, what a cliffhanger! And we won’t get book #2 until sometime next year.

This was a unique spin on a fantasy novel. It felt somewhat set in a “normal” world, until the random magical creature halfway through the book starts attacking. The first half was really slow going for me, but the second half picked up with the romance and action part of the story.

Rebecca really does have a way of writing that makes everything seem so real. I could almost picture myself in the war trenches along with Iris.

Read if you love:
- Enemies to lovers
- Magical elements
- Battle scenes
- Pen pals
- Lost family

4.25 stars
Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!

I cried so much during this book. It had such beautiful descriptions of grief and hopelessness. Iris struggles the whole book with the fear of losing yet another loved one, yet she still chooses to love.

That ending hurt so so so badly. I'm so scared for the next book.

Roman is an amazing love interest! I love his teasing and his attitude. He cares so deeply but is scared to after what happened.

Sometimes the plot felt a little rushed while at others it seemed to drag. It could also be a little confusing with the whole mythology aspect.

DIVINE RIVALS is my second Rebecca Ross novel; it's certainly not going to be my last (and not just because this one has a sequel). My experience with this book mirrors my initial experience with this author -- it's slow to start as it invites the reader to step into this world and get a lay of the land (including meeting the characters and understanding their relationships) but it eventually has me caught up in the current of the tale. While there are certainly a number of familiarities, Ross' additions of gods and magic and her ability to write a lovely relationship dynamic did wonders for getting me highly invested in what would happen next for our main characters Iris and Roman.

Taking place in an England-like area resembling the WWII time frame where typewriters were the means of communication and war is at hand. Not your typical war, though; the war raging here is between 2 gods with mythical creatures at their disposal while the civilians are left to pick a side and fight.

We follow FMC, Iris, whose brother joined the war and has yet to be heard from. She heads into the war front as a neutral reporter, but her rival, Roman Kitt, also decides to show up as a reporter for reasons unknown.

I am an absolute sucker for enemies-lovers romance, fantasy elements, AND love interests writing letters to each other * my heart hurts *. Ross develops the world in this story vividly, and her writing style had me clinging to every word. The only issue I had was I read the first 75% of this book immediately. While reading the first 3/4, I could not think of anything else other than when can I pick this back up. After the 75% mark, everything moved unrealistically quickly and felt underdeveloped. This goes for the romance between love interests and the surprise twist. Both main characters have a lot of growth potential, leaving me impatiently waiting for book 2.

Thank you, NetGalley, Rebecca Ross, and St. Martins Press, for sending me this ARC in return for an honest review.

Suspenseful and romantic, Divine Rivals is grounded in its WWI-inspired world while still feeling deeply magical. The reader can't help but fall in love with Iris and Roman as they fall for each other. The "You've Got Mail" premise is cleverly executed through magical typewriters, and the twist ending is a gut punch of a cliffhanger. Rebecca Ross continues to be an auto-buy author for me, both in YA and adult.